Sue Sands used to dream of running a four-story antique shop. In 2012 she started small, buying and selling with help from her husband Loyd, working vintage markets before graduating to a booth space. A year later the couple bought a building in Perry, Oklahoma, and turned it into a brick-and-mortar store, with Loyd keeping his day job while Sue built the business that became Yankee Dime Mercantile, now located at 607 Elm Street. Officially incorporated in March 2013, the shop has spent more than a decade growing into a genuine Oklahoma institution.
Rather than specializing narrowly, Yankee Dime describes itself as an antique and junk store, and the range reflects that honestly: vintage furniture, pottery, folk art, old document papers, lighting, barn tin, jars, fans, and architectural salvage all pass through, spanning roughly the 1800s through the 1970s. That mix of primitive housewares alongside mid-century modern pieces gives the shop a reputation for turning up genuinely unexpected finds, and one part of the business has quietly become notable in its own right: Yankee Dime supplies props to film and television productions shooting in Oklahoma, pulling from an inventory built up across several buildings the business has acquired over the years purely for storage. When a production needs a specific period piece, Sue and her team go on a tour of their own buildings to see what fits, a service that grew entirely out of word-of-mouth after early film crews found the shop.
Sands has said her approach to the business boils down to treating everyone who walks through the door like a good friend, and that hospitality shows up in customer reviews describing the shop as whimsical and welcoming, staffed by people willing to make a deal rather than hold firm on sticker prices. Regulars compare the experience to a cluster of garage sales gathered indoors, with genuine antiques and collectibles mixed in among lower-priced, more eclectic finds, an approach that rewards patient browsing over a quick in-and-out visit.
Hours run on the flexible side typical of a small, owner-run shop: open most days, with Sunday and Monday available by appointment or by chance, so calling or messaging ahead is worthwhile for anyone driving in from outside Perry. The shop is a member of the Perry Chamber of Commerce, reflecting its role as a fixture of the small-town business community in Noble County, and its long operating history in a single Elm Street location has made it a reliable stop for regional antique hunters and the occasional film scout alike.
For anyone looking for genuine early Americana, architectural salvage, or simply an afternoon of unpredictable treasure hunting, Yankee Dime Mercantile delivers a shopping experience built on relationships as much as inventory. Yankee Dime Mercantile is a family-owned antique and junk store in Perry, Oklahoma, run by Sue and Loyd Sands since 2013, known for its wide-ranging early Americana to mid-century inventory and its side business supplying props to film productions.
